Heinemann’s Launches Marketing Campaign for Mere Pennies

Whereas most people think of email marketing as a method for driving people to a web site to make a purchase, Heinemann’s, a Wisconsin-based restaurant chain, is using it successfully to increase business at their seven brick and mortar restaurants. The increases are coming from their customers making additional visits in response to a series of personalized email offers. Heinemann’s is increasing their return rate without the use of a web site or a customer base rich with young, internet-savvy people--nearly 60% of Heinemann’s customers are over the age of 55.

Using innovative off-line collection methods and a marketing program called Dinner Bell, Heinemann’s has built a substantial opt-in database of important customer data and email addresses that allows them to launch marketing campaigns for mere pennies. Email messages, complete with full color photographs and targeted offers, are periodically email ed to their database using Dinner Bell. Heinemann’s is getting results with restaurant coupon redemption levels as high 11.2%.

Compared to traditional direct mail, the approach is delivering better results and all for about 1/10th of the cost. As an added benefit, the email campaigns are allowing Heinemann’s to interact with many of its customers and strengthen their relationship. Email marketing has brought a technological approach to something Heinemann’s has been doing for over 75 years - getting close to customers and treating them as individuals.

Using Data Dog Interactive’s Dinner Bell system, the Heinemann’s restaurant chain initiated an aggressive off-line data capture effort in their seven Wisconsin restaurants starting in April 2001. Using assumptive modeling to project the cost of building an off-line database, Data Dog created an economically viable marketing program for Heinemann’s to effectively and inexpensively communicate with its customers using email. Data Dog Marketing consistently tested and refined outbound messages in an effort to improve response rates with each mailing (in a recent mailing, 87% of those people email ed opened the mail and clicked on a coupon-link, and 11.2% of them printed and redeemed the coupons at the restaurants). Heinemann’s is pleased with the results and continues to add to their database and email their customers on a regular basis.

Summary
Email marketing can be a highly effective means for communicating with customers and driving them into brick and mortar restaurants. Messages and offers that are targeted towards the restaurant’s core customers have the greatest impact. Email can also enhance the relationship between a business and its customers by providing a more tailored, one-to-one communication platform. A key element of success also includes executing an effective off-line, in-store data capture strategy. Coupon redemption did not occur instantly as it does with a purchase over the internet. In most cases, coupons trickle in over the promotion period. Also, for accurate tracking, restaurant management must have a centralized system in place to track coupon redemption.

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